Brian Ebersole reflects on fighting MMA pioneer and former UFC welterweight champion Carlos Newton

As a fighter there comes a point in your career where you need a signature name to put on your resume. A name brand fighter that will hopefully up your stock as you continue your career to the top. Frankie Edgar and Nick Diaz have that name in BJ Penn, while Lyoto Machida got his badge via Randy Couture. Having a victory over that well known name adds to your legitimacy and is suppose to boost your recognition with the public. Now most casual MMA fans have probably never heard of who former UFC welterweight champion Carlos Newton is. Newton was a true MMA pioneer and competed both in the early days of the UFC and Pride. He amassed a record of 16-14 with notable wins over Erik Paulson, Pat Miletich, Renzo Gracie and memorable fights with Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson and Matt Hughes.

Current UFC welterweight Brian Ebersole was looking for just that name when the fight with Carlos Newton fell upon his lap. At that point in his career Ebersole had five straight wins in a row but had no certifiable legend on his resume. In this exclusive video, show by our man Michael Mardones, Ebersole reflects on training for Newton as he reminisces fondly of the challenge of fighting such a legend.